President Roslin

Laura Roslin
Battlestar Galactica character
First appearance	"Miniseries"
Last appearance	"Daybreak (Part 3)"
Portrayed by	Mary McDonnell
Information
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Occupation	Secretary of Education of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol (Miniseries) President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol
Colony	Caprica
Affiliation	Twelve Colonies

Laura Roslin is a fictional character in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, portrayed by Mary McDonnell. She is the President of the Twelve Colonies and one of the primary characters in the show.

Roslin's mother is revealed to have also died from breast cancer, and Roslin speaks of her mother's life and death in Season 4's episode "Faith". In "Daybreak", Roslin is shown to have had two sisters, one of whom is pregnant, and a father prior to the Cylon attack on the Colonies. The morning after her sister's baby shower, two police officers inform Roslin that her family had been struck by a drunk driver and killed the previous night. Several months later, Roslin has become somewhat of a recluse and agrees to a blind date after turning down a position alongside her friend, Caprica City Mayor Richard Adar, who is running for President. Though her blind date turns out to be a younger man who is a former student of hers, Roslin has dinner with him and sleeps with him later that night. She later calls and accepts the position with Adar, saying she will stick with it "to the very end."

Just prior to the Cylon attack on the Colonies, Roslin is the Secretary of Education under President Adar. Roslin appears to have been in a romantic relationship with Adar, which fell apart when Roslin successfully defused a large-scale teachers strike. Adar (who assumed Roslin would fail at breaking the strike through peaceful means) demands Roslin's resignation, citing the fact that he wants to use force against the teachers in order to intimidate the other unions on Caprica from striking.

Roslin refuses to resign and vows to fight for her job, as she leaves for a doctor's appointment and the decommissioning ceremony for the Galactica. At her doctor's appointment, Roslin is told that she has breast cancer. Roslin attends the Galactica ceremony, and upon leaving, the Cylons attack the Twelve Colonies. During the attack, Roslin responds to "Case Orange", the official Colonial Government emergency automated signal, and is informed that she is the highest ranking surviving member of the Presidential line of succession. She was in fact the 43rd in line of succession, and is sworn in as President.

Mary McDonnell discussing her character.

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Wikipedia